All-Encompassing Peace

photo credit: Aaron Springston

Forgiveness is all-encompassing. It’s more than saying we don't hold a grudge against someone for something. Forgiveness is born from the practice of realizing our unity with God, hence our Oneness with each other. What more could we want than peace, joy, love, contentment, bliss, appreciation, and satisfaction? This larger, all-encompassing forgiveness reconciles any so-called differences we may have with each other, and also with anything we are holding against ourselves. Allowing divine Love to guide our every action and thought would free us to live differently than when our lives are dictated by material beliefs and habits. It's always amazing to me that some people choose to not speak to one another simply because they disagree about certain things. I like oranges, you like apples. So what? Our commonality rests in the Oneness of our true being. That's a constant reality!

“Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need.”

Mary Baker Eddy — Science & Health Page 494:10-11

Forgiveness is My Wish for Today

"Forgiveness" by Carol Peacock

Today I received word that a sweet friend has an aggressive form of cancer and won’t be with us much longer. As usual, when these things happen to our friends, we remember the good times, recalling all the good times we’ve shared. This dear woman was never happy. She found it impossible to let go of old hurts and resentments, making it impossible for her to go forward and carve out the life for herself she wanted so much. My hope for today is that anyone who is feeling angry or hopeless can see their way past whatever is holding them in pain. Forgiveness is my wish for you today. Namaste…

From A Course in Miracles - Lesson 122

“What could you want forgiveness cannot give? Do you want peace? Forgiveness offers it. Do you want happiness, a quiet mind, a certainty of purpose, and a sense of worth and beauty that transcends the world? Do you want care and safety, and the warmth of sure protection always? Do you want a quietness that cannot be disturbed, a gentleness that never can be hurt, a deep, abiding comfort, and a rest so perfect it can never be upset?

All this forgiveness offers you, and more. It sparkles on your eyes as you awake, and gives you joy with which to meet the day. It soothes your forehead while you sleep, and rests upon your eyelids so you see no dreams of fear and evil, malice and attack. And when you wake again, it offers you another day of happiness and peace. All this forgiveness offers you, and more.” 

What is Spiritual Healing?

PC: Arthur Bruno

When people ask me to pray for them, they most often think I will be asking God to help them. This could not be further from the truth. The prayer which I utilize affirms the reality of our Being, combined with a listening to hear what should be affirmed. It's not an asking for a condition to be changed, but a knowing that there is no condition in divine Mind’s reflection. Our mortal mind often insists that this material existence is the reality of our being and any glimpse we may have of our spiritual perfection is but a mirage. The opposite of this scenario is true and our realization is what brings harmony. This is not a mind-over-matter type of healing. So when you ask me to pray for you, I'll never say or think anything similar to: Please, God, heal Mary's cold. But I will say, What do I need to know about this situation? This is what Jesus was telling us, and why his teachings were revolutionary. We are not material, we are spiritual. What is matter anyway? Physicists have found it is 99-point-something percent empty space! So what keeps us in the shape we’re in, even though our cells are replaced constantly? Thought! And this is why I find the study and practice of divine Science fascinating.

“If we would open their prison doors for the sick, we must first learn to bind up the broken-hearted. If we would heal by the Spirit, we must not hide the talent of spiritual healing under the napkin of its form, nor bury the morale of Christian Science in the grave-clothes of its letter.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 295:5-15

Systems of Ideas

PC: Aaron Springston

Do you want feel-good, improve-your-relationships, make-more-money types of reading material, or would you rather go all the way down the rabbit hole with a new way of thought? I've found that a momentary recognition of the Truth of Being leads me to want more, but I've known many people who don't want to go there. And that's cool, too. The present material beliefs we espouse and demonstrate in daily life are comfortable to us, and it's difficult to let them go. Sometimes we have held on to stubborn memories of the past for so long that we can't seem to let them go. These things may be frightening, especially if we've convinced ourselves we don't like change. So if you start to become afraid while trying on the new thoughts you are now having, realize that Love is all there is. Sing a Beatles song or two! Do anything you can to cultivate joy. Live life fully in the whirlpool of divine Love! Go all the way down the rabbit hole, knowing every step is sure when you walk with Love. 

“Mind, supreme over all its formations and governing them all, is the central sun of its own systems of ideas, the life and light of all its own vast creation; and man is tributary to divine Mind.”

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 209:5-8

One Grand Brotherhood

Today at the Catholic mass at which I play keyboards, the man who manages fundraisers made an announcement. It seems the young priest’s niece, who lives in his native country of Nigeria, is very ill. Through someone’s negotiations, it was determined that the Arkansas Children’s Hospital was willing to evaluate her and see if anything can be done to help, and they are willing to do this free of charge. Of course, the girl and her mother would need to have airfare from halfway around the world. So there was a letter sent out to the congregation asking for financial help in this matter. The announcement today was that $5,000 had been needed for this endeavor, and more than $17,000 had been donated to the family! Before telling the total cash contributions, the man looked down and shook his head. He said, You crazy people. And his voice cracked as he told of the large amount which had been collected. From my vantage point at the piano, I could see everyone’s faces and my eyes filled with tears as did most of the room. What a testament to the power of people to help people! This, in my mind, is what church is. What a blessing to have witnessed this!

“The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand brotherhood, all having the same Principle, or Father; and blessed is that man who seeth his brother’s need and supplieth it, seeking his own in another’s good.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 518: 15-19 

Spiders and Such

"Praying Mantis on a Fingertip"
photo by Richard Quick

I never watch doom-and-gloom television shows, and steadfastly refuse to listen to people's stories of their fear of nature and its consequences. But recently I saw a short snippet of a video about brown recluse spiders, which are prevalent in our area. The narrator of this video was telling us how spiders don't attack unless they're surprised or bothered in some way, and they showed a clip of a spider resting on a stack of washcloths with a person's hand going toward them. Yikes!! Well, that image has stuck in my mind to the extent that I look for spiders on every towel or washcloth I touch. And the odd thing is, I try to pretend I'm not doing this! Who do I think I'm fooling? This is the type of fearful living which I refuse to acknowledge, but yet I'm doing it. And so now, I can choose to analyze this behavior and rationalize that I don't worry about spiders in other places so why here. But that's all it would be: a material rationalization, trying to convince myself there's nothing to fear. A Course in Miracles tells us “my mind holds only what I think with God”. So I must ask myself if God is afraid of spiders. We are also told in ACIM to “loose the world from all I thought it was”, and this is sufficient reason for me to loose my beliefs and reactions to creepy crawlies - I hope! We are also told we “cannot fail when seeking to reach the truth of being”. I sure do want to do that!

“All of God’s creatures, moving in the harmony of Science, are harmless, useful, indestructible.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 514:28-30

A Cell in the Universe

"Ancient Enigma"
sculpture by Ken Starbird 

I heard an interesting analogy concerning the body's immune system and the world's ability to heal itself. Each and every one of us are a cell in the immune system of the universe. Every thought we think is either contributing to the unified health of our planet or the propagation of fear and terror. Every prayer, every meditation, ever reaching out through inward listening is magnified exponentially. We have the power to change the world through ourselves. Every interaction brings us closer to a world of love or a world of fear. The Love which heals us personally spreads through the web of Oneness. In the same way that we take personal responsibility for ourselves, our health, our well-being, we can take responsibility for a return to Love. It does matter what we do and what we think. We never know when an interaction with someone will make the difference in that person's life which turns them away from reactive fear to healing Love. The Truth which corrects all errors in our mind is our ascension into heaven within. Never doubt that you matter, that you make a difference.  Allow silence and listening to guide you to being the change you want to see! 

Mary Baker Eddy quote:

"Immortal ideas, pure, perfect, and enduring, are transmitted by the divine Mind through divine Science, which corrects error with truth and demands spiritual thoughts, divine concepts, to the end that they may produce harmonious results." Science & Health Page 259: 27-31